
You don't need them, and even if a film/show will end up having them, you don't always need to write them. More modern shows are more likely to just trust that, "hey, we've been in this location in half our episodes, you know where it is" but it is still a perfectly valid stylistic choice.

Movies use these, too, although they've honestly become somewhat dated in both media.

That classic case of an establishing shot is, say, showing the outside of the diner in "Seinfeld" before they cut into it. It's often useful to think about, but plenty of scripts don't have a carefully constructed one.
#Establishing shot slugline movie#
So in your case, do we need the establishing shots to understand the opening shot? That would tell me whether or not I would include them.Īn opening image is a specific image chosen to open the movie with, usually with some sort of thematic resonance. Same with establishing shots, if I need to know this takes place in SF then a stock footage helicopter of the Golden Gate says it. If I need background on a character to understand that it just hit the fan, then just enough of it. Straight into the deep end, then crawl back out. No establishing shot, all the information we need is in the frame. Show me the boxer taking the last punch of the fight, I know what happened before that. This one has an establishing shot, the white house blowing up. Show me the white house blowing up, followed by a press conference with a completely disheveled man in what was a perfectly tailored suit, I know he is the President and I know everything just hit the fan. I'm in favor of just enough establishing shot to tell me the character.

I don't need to know which city, or even which planet, throw me into the thick of it and crawl back out. My preference as a viewer is to be thrown into the deep end immediately.
